Elton returns to his piano roots

What more can one expect from Elton John? The singer, songwriter, pianist and performer is now 66 years old. He has successfully scoffed at convention and has been knighted by the Queen of England. He has raised millions to fund the battle against AIDS. At this point in his life, he must have already won every award imaginable. That is, save perhaps for the Nobel and for all we know, he might also get that, too.

Sir Elton John has performed in sold-out concerts all over the world. He has also sold over 250 million records during these past 40 years and has enough hit songs to last several lifetimes. Your Song, Candle In The Wind, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road, Sweet Painted Lady, Sorry Seems To Be The Hardest Word, Rocket Man, Crocodile Rock, Daniel, Don’t Let The Sun Go Down On Me, The Bitch Is Back, Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, Sad Songs (Say So Much), Can You Feel The Love Tonight, Circle Of Life, Something About The Way You Look Tonight, Written In The Stars and many others.

Though he can certainly afford to do so, there is still no resting on his laurels for this incredible artist. So he went back to the site where his many triumphs were born, the recording studio. Elton recorded and recently released an album made up entirely of new originals he composed with his lyricist of many years, Bernie Taupin. Titled The Diving Board, the collection also brings to focus, for the very first time, Elton, the pianist.

Sure, he has played in many recordings in the past but in all of those cases his piano playing was treated as just part of the band. Perhaps, he was given some short solos within the songs but various guitarists, violinists, etc., also got those. This time around though, Elton and his piano get equally prominent exposure. For the very first time, Elton has recorded with just bass, drums and piano. In fact, save for the use of keyboards, The Diving Board is an all-acoustic set with only some cellos, tambourines or horns to enhance the arrangements.

Strong is the first description that comes to mind while listening to The Diving Board. I now realize why Elton live is so much more impressive than the recorded version. Live, he has the piano and that is one of his strengths. Strong, too, are Taupin’s lyrics. Devoid of the necessity of using mundane, commercial themes, he dove into social commentary with all his might. No Your Song or Don’t Go Breaking My Heart in here.

His subjects are not pretty. War, Ocean’s Away; the perils of stardom, The Diving Board; the short unhappy life of Oscar Wilde, Oscar Wilde Gets Out; homelessness, A Town Called Jubilee; an abusive relationship, My Quicksand; activism, a blind piano player who is a slave, The Ballad Of Blind Tom; voyeurism, Voyeur; dying The New Fever Waltz; but Elton’s interpretation imbues these with a lyricism that makes these songs difficult to ignore.

And yes, Elton. He is the star. The CD is really all about him. It shows how powerful his singing has become. Home Again, a poignant ballad, is a moving example of what can happen when the fine elements of his music fuse into perfection. And for a pop/country vibe, there is Can’t Stay Alone Tonight. It is also sad but such a wonderfully realized example of songwriting, performing and production genius.

And not to forget, The Diving Board also shows how wide-ranging is Elton’s musicality and what a talent classical music lost when he became a rock star. Elton on the piano, playing the instrumental interludes, is an absolute delight. It makes me wonder why he has not done this before and I am glad it has finally happened. An album of instrumental originals composed and performed by Elton should be in production soon.

And now here are the big-selling records of the week. I must say that Miley Cyrus’ appalling behavior these past days has given her a No. 1 selling album. Her Bangerz, which includes Wrecking Ball of the controversial nude video, lords it over all others in Billboard Magazine’s Top 200 Albums chart. Here are the titles in the Top 20:

Bangerz by Miley; Too Weird To Live, Too Rare To Die! By Panic! At The Disco; Nothing Was The Same by Drake; My Name Is My Name by Pusha T; The 20/20 Experiment by Justin Timberlake; Pure Heroine by Lorde; Glee: The Quarterback Soundtrack by the cast of Glee; Paradigm Shift by Korn; Frame by Frame by Cassadee Pope; Monsters In The Closet by Mayday Parade.

Closer To The Truth by Cher; Fortress by Alter Bridge; Crash My Party by Luke Bryan; Soy El Mismo by Prince Royce; Melophobia by Cage The Elephant; Mountains Of Sorrow, Rivers Of Song by Amos Lee; Crickets by Joe Nichols; Old by Danny Brown; Night Visions by Imagine Dragons; and Here’s To The Good Times by the Florida Georgia Line.

The Top 20 singles in the Hot 100 are: Royals by Lorde; Wrecking Ball by Miley; Roar by Katy Perry; Wake Me Up by Avicii; Hold On, We’re Going Home by Drake featuring Majid Jordan; The Fox by Ylvis; Holy Grail by Jay-Z feat. Justin Timberlake; Applause by Lady Gaga; Blurred Lines by Robin Thicke feat. T.I. + Pharrell; Summertime Sadness by Lana Del Rey & Cedric Gervais.

We Can’t Stop by Miley; Safe And Sound by Capital Cities; Heartbreaker by Justin Bieber; 23 by Mike WILL Made-It feat. Miley, Wiz Khalifa & Juicy J; Radioactive by Imagine Dragons; Berzerk by Eminem; Survival by Eminem; That’s My Kind Of Night by Luke Bryan; Counting Stars by OneRepublic; and Demons by Imagine Dragons.